NJ man who sued on gay ban says change falls short

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The New Jersey man who first challenged the Boy Scouts’ ban on gay members says a new policy allowing gay scouts but barring “open or avowed” homosexual adult leaders is “convoluted.”

James Dale tells The Star-Ledger (http://bit.ly/12AznkH ) that the policy announced Thursday is troublesome because it tells youngsters “being gay is a youthful indiscretion” and that they will be rejected when they turn 18.

Now 42, he says he does not think parents of gay boys should let them join the organization.

The Middletown native sued the Boy Scouts in 1990 after he was removed as an assistant scoutmaster because of his sexual orientation.

The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled in a 5-4 decision that the organization was within its rights to ban gays.